Luther and Lutheranism

Martin Luther was eight years old when Christopher Columbus set sail from Europe and landed in the Western Hemisphere. Luther was a young monk and priest when Michaelangelo was painting the Sistine Chapel in Rome...

ELCA Good Gifts Catalog

Assignment Process

Assignment completes candidacy for all people, including those ordained in another Lutheran church or Christian tradition, moving them toward first call and admittance to the appropriate roster in the ELCA...

Joint Observance

The ELCA Conference of Bishops' Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Liaison Committee and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Committee commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by signing a joint statement during a Lutheran-Catholic service of Common Prayer.

Reformation 500

Martin Luther posted his “Ninety-Five Theses” in Wittenberg on Oct. 31, 1517, and the resulting debate about Christian teaching and practice led to changes that have shaped the course of Western Christianity for almost 500 years.

Our Scholarships

Fund for Leaders has been offering scholarships for students at ELCA seminaries who are pursuing rostered ministry in the ELCA since 2000. In the 2017-18 academic year alone, the fund will provide over $2.1 million in scholarships to over 250 ELCA seminary students, empowering those whom God calls into ministry to go and serve as the church needs and the Holy Spirit leads.

Eligibility and selection criteria vary across the different types of scholarships available. Read on for more details.

The ELCA Fund for Leaders Direct Full-Tuition Scholarship is for students who are beginning a full-time degree program at an ELCA seminary and have begun the ELCA candidacy process in order to become a rostered pastor or deacon in the ELCA. Fund for Leaders Direct Full-Tuition scholarships are awarded to students in their first year of seminary and, as long as students remain eligible, funding is guaranteed for the duration of required seminary coursework.

The ELCA Fund for Leaders Federal Chaplaincy Ministries Scholarship is for students who are attending an ELCA seminary full-time and are preparing for ministry as a military, Veterans Administration or federal prison chaplain. These scholarships are awarded through ELCA Federal Chaplaincy Ministries.

The ELCA Fund for Leaders Mission Developer/Redeveloper Scholarship is for students who are full-time rising middlers or seniors or TEEM (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries) candidates at an ELCA seminary, are participating in the mission developer/redeveloper program at their seminary, and are nominated by their seminary to apply.

The ELCA Fund for Leaders Synod or Congregation Scholarship is offered to ELCA seminary students by synods and congregations that have established a scholarship endowment fund through Fund for Leaders. Students must be first nominated by a synod or congregation with a fund in order to apply.

Application periods for Fund for Leaders scholarships vary depending on the type of scholarship but generally take place in winter or early spring.

This is Christ's church.

There is a place for you here.

We are the church that shares a living, daring confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith, we embrace you as a whole person--questions, complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work in Christ's name for the life of the world.